Working as airhostess

Nowadays, the willingness of women to work as an air-hostess is increasing. Does the Shariah allow this?

While working as an airhostess, a woman has to serve food and drinks to the passengers.  For the following reasons, working as an airhostess is not permissible for Muslim women:

1.  Mostly, for airhostesses, the clothes are indecent.

2.  Talking/interacting/mixing with men is unavoidable.

3.  The whole job is itself in a journey, although the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has prohibited from traveling with a non-Mahram, as given in the Hadith in Sahih Bukhari:

Translation:  It has been narrated on the authority of Hadhrat Abdullah Bin Umar (May Allah be well pleased with them) that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said:  No woman should travel for a distance of more than 3 days' worth without a Mahram.  (Sahih Bukhari, Hadith No. 1024)

If it is possible to do this job following the rules of the Purdah as decreed by the Shariah, avoiding mixing with men and along with a Mahram, then there is an allowance for it provided the women only serve women and don’t mix with men.  Otherwise, this job itself is a mixture of many sins.

And Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) knows best.

Mufti Syed Ziauddin Naqshbandi Qadri

[Professor, Islamic Law, Jamia Nizamia,
Founder-Director, Abul Hasanaat Islamic Research Center]